Kevin Pietersen's Ashes Claim Is Slap in the Face to English Cricket Public

Has the England and Wales Cricket Board been taking lessons in management from The Office's David Brent? It certainly seems that way following the latest shambolic events involving Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss.

Amid all the bickering about trust, treachery and betrayal, what was perhaps most shocking was Pietersen's accusation that England have effectively been given permission to lose this summer's Ashes series.

Writing in his column in the Daily Telegraph, Pietersen said he had “heard from two very good sources that results do not matter this summer anyway.”

Good luck, then, if you're one of the thousands of spectators who has forked out hundreds of pounds on tickets. Let's hope the weather is nice and you're enjoying the company of good friends, as you won't be able to bank on anything in the middle.

Part of director of cricket Andrew Strauss' brief is to create an England team that would challenge for the Ashes and World Cup by 2019. There's nothing wrong with having an eye on the future, but not if it means giving up on the present.

As the Mirror's Mike Walters tweeted:

"

Building for the 2019 Ashes? What about the 2015 Ashes - shall we just hand them over now or collect £100 a head off the punters first?

— MIKE WALTERS (@MikeWaltersMGM) May 11, 2015"

Of course, nobody is seriously saying that England under Alastair Cook won't be trying to win the Ashes this summer. Pietersen's accusations just reinforce the impression that the ECB is woefully out of touch with the paying public.

If England need any inspiration as to what can be achieved in a short space of time, they need look no further than the two teams touring here this year.

New Zealand were underachieving under Ross Taylor's leadership. Bold selection and the appointment of a daring captain in Brendon McCullum made the Kiwis were one of the best sides in the world in the space of a year.

Equally impressive was the rapid transformation of the Australians once Darren Lehmann took charge. Replacing the hapless Mickey Arthur just weeks before the 2013 Ashes series seemed disastrous at the time; it turned out to be a masterstroke from Cricket Australia.

Yes, the Australians lost the Ashes 3-0. There were instant signs they were moving in the right direction under Lehmann, though. Within six months they were celebrating an Ashes whitewash.

Seven of the 11 Australians who played during the 2013/14 series were in their 30s. The Aussies weren't looking years ahead. It was all about winning then, and it should be for England now.

Creating an environment where players can relax and fulfill their talent is what the England management are hoping to achieve by taking results out of the equation this summer.

Nobody wants a return to the days where the likes of poor old Mark Ramprakash were picked then dropped on numerous occasions. There is a fine line between being relaxed and complacent, though, and too often it looks like the latter.

“(Losing) is not in my make-up and I know it is not in the make-up of the English public either,” Pietersen wrote in the Daily Telegraph. “It is an absolute disgrace if that is their mindset.”

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of KP's non-selection, that's one thing surely everyone can agree on.